Steuermoral und Religiosität in Ost- und Westdeutschland

In this paper the impact of religiousness on the cheat on taxes is analyzed. The hypothesis is that religious persons reject cheating on taxes to a larger extent than nonreligious persons. This hypothesis can be based on the economic theory of religion. This theory emphasizes the relevance of the expectation of punishment and reward in the afterlife as well as the function of the opportunity costs of time which the religious association levies on its members for religious persons. These costs trigger a self-selection process among prospective members and deter persons who are unwilling to cooperate. Using data from the World Values Surveys, the impact of religious variables on the cheat on taxes is analyzed for East and West Germany. The results show that in both parts of Germany religious variables do have an impact on the attitude concerning cheat on taxes. However, there are significant differences between these parts of the country